Grain huller



R. A. LF'I'TLE GRAIN HULLER Filed April 24. 1923 anucukoz fife/T112226 Patented July 29, I924.

nmrno sraraes Baum OFFICE;

ROBERT ANSON LITTLE, OF 'WOO'DSTQCK, V IRGINI A;

GRAIN HULLER- i r Application filed April 24, 1923. .Serial No. 634,373.,"

I '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT A. LITTLE, a

citizen" of the .United States, residing at chaff from oats preparatory to. making oatmeal therefrom or in preparing oats for feeding fowls, it has been necessary to first kiln-dry the oatsthereby consuming a conpcnse to the operation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine which will remove the hulls from oats and other similar grains without the necessity of first kiln-drying or- ;otherwise treating the same.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the operating parts that the hull will be removed without breaking or abrading the kernel of the grain that operated upon.

A further object is to provide means whereby the dislodged hullor chaff, together with any dirt that may be mixed with the grain will be, when loosened therefrom, drawn off at each of the various stages of operation on said grain. This object is accomplished by creating a suction in-the machine beneath each group of-hulling de vices.

Still another. object is the production of suitable regulating devices to control the suction through said machine.

(It-her objects and advantages will appear in the course of the following-specifications and claims. s V r In the drawings which form a part of this application, my invention is illustrated as particularly adapted to the hulling of cats, but 'I. wish it tobe understood that I do not desire to be limited in the application of my device to the hulling of any particular grain or seed, as devices ,of this character maybe adapted to the hulling of a variety ofgrains, beans, .peas and the like. I Inthe drawings:

Figure 1 is 'a vertlcalsection throughthe siderable amount of time and adding an eX- I is being grain. huller, showing the relation .of the hulling discs, the suction producing fans and the hopper construction beneath-each ,pair of discs and the accompanying. fan. Also showing-the worm feeder for preventing clogging of the hoppers.

. Figure 2fsho ws on .an enlarged scale compared withEigure 1, a planview of one. of F the runners showing the relation of the ,variousiconcentric .rows ofcountcrsunl: re- .cesses, the recesses being shown over apart onlyof the disc.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view-on the samescale as Figure 2 and on line 3-3 o-f Flgure 2, showing ,the relation of the countersunk recesses in the upper and lower discs to each other.

Figurei' shows a'plan of the fan within its casing, showing. the-, cut-ofi devi'ces for regulating the opening into the fan casing. Referring to the drawings in'detail", the same reference characters designating th': same parts in all figures of the drawings;

10 designates a cylindrical casing which may be formed of metal or other suitable material, said cylinder having a top or cover the upper end of the shaft, while the lower end of the shaft bears in a trampot 1? "formed centrally of a lever15, pivoted at 16 to one of the legs 17 which supports the cylinder '10. Removably secured to the shaft 13 by means of the set-screws 18 are rinder-runner discs 19' preferably ofsteel rotatable 'with the shaft 13 whenpower is applied thereto through the pulley 20. Within the casing and spaced a suitable distance from said runners 19, are stationary discs 21 preferably of steel which may be adjusted relative to the runners 19 by adjusting bolts 22 by which said stationary plates are connected to the cylindrical casing 10. Located above each stationary disc cover 11' is provided with a bearing 14 for is a funnel-shaped hopper 23', preferably'se- I In order to facilitate the c each hopper. Located aboveteach*ofthe therewith at one side which leadto a bin 28. Located within the fan casings are fans 29, said fans being attached to and rotatable with the shaft 13, the size of the aperture 26 being regulated by a cut-ofi 30 working in slideways 30 and provided with a handle 31 extending through apertures in the casing 10 for manipulating the same.

The runner discs 19 and the stationary discs 21 are provided on their adjacent sur faces with recesses or depressions 32 countersunk therein and arranged in concentric circles. These recesses or depressions are preferably conical in shape with the slope of the sides thereof at a wide angle to the axis of the cone, in order to prevent grain becoming lodged therein and consequently broken or ground by the abrading action of the relatively moving discs. The concentric rows of recesses are so arranged that a recess in one row will be opposite or approximately opposite the space between the recesses and the adjacent rows so that grain passing out from the centre to the edge of the runner will be obliged at some period of passage to drop into one of these recesses. The runner discs and the stationary discs are arranged progressively in closer proximity to each other toward the bottom of the machine for example, the uppermost discs may be arranged one-eighth of an inch apart, the next pair of discs one-sixteenth of an inch apart, and the third pair of discs one thirty-second of an inch apart, thereby giving progressively a finer abrading action upon the hulls of the, grain.

In operation, grain with the hulls thereon is delivered to the machine through the chute 33 and is directed by the upper hopper 23 through the aperture 2% onto the uppermost underrunner 19, the movement of the grain being facilitated by the feedscrews 13. The grain then passes out between the discs 19 and 21 falling from time to time into the conical recesses and part of the chaff or hulls are dislodged therefrom by the relative action of the discs with the countersunk recesses therein. The grain after passing between the discs falls over the edge of the lower disc of each pair and is subjected to the blast created by the uppermost fan 29. The current of air may be regulated by thecut-oif 30 so as to be suflicient to draw in all the chaff and dirt that has been dislodged from the grain in this first step of the operation and to avoid drawing in any of the grain. The grain then passes between the next pair of discs after which it is again subjected to the force of the current caused by the second fan. A similar operation takes place in connection with the third pair of discs whereupon the grain is deposited by the lower hopper onto the inclined bottom 12 of the machine from which it is delivered through the spout 3 1 to bags or other receptacles. The underrunners may be simultaneously adjusted relative to the stationary discs 21 by means of the lighter-screw 35 which is attached at one end to the lever 15 and is supported by the bracket 36 attached to the cylinder. The current set up by the fans through the funnel-shaped hoppers 23 has an aspirating effect to draw off the chaff and other undesirable material.

By the peculiar construction of the coun tersunk recesses in the discs, the grain passing out between a pair of said discs is permitted to drop endwise into the recesses in the lower disc and to be operated upon by the recessed upper disc, whereby a rubbing effect takes -olace and the hulls are dislodged from the grain by the continuous friction, but by constructing these recesses of conical shape and with a wide angle to the perpendicular, the grain will not be retained in the recesses so that it cannot be readily displaced. Consequently there I will be no grinding effect on the grain which would result in the grain being broken or abraded by the action of the cooperating discs, but there will be such anagitation and rubbing of the grain as to dislodge the hulls without injuring the grain.

By locating an aspirating fan beneath each pair of discs the dirt and hulls dislodged therefrom by each succeeding pair of discs will be carried off to the bin 28 and will not be passed between the next succeeding pair of discs. By this arrangement the grain is delivered to each succeeding pair of discs in a cleaner condition than it otherwise would and the hulls and dirt are not present to interfere with or clog the. next succeeding discs. When the grain has passed through the machine the hulls will not only have been dislodged from the grain, but will also have been separated therefrom at each progressive stage.

lVhat I claim as new is;

1. In a grain huller, a plurality of hoppers located one above the other, a pair of discs beneath each hopper, the adjacent faces of each pair lying in parallelplanes and having conical recesses formed therein and one of said discs being rotatable.

2. In a device of the character described, a plurality of hoppers one above the other, pairs of discs beneath each of said hoppers, a fan enclosed on all sides by a casing having an aperture in the bottom thereof located beneath each of said pairs of discs and above the next succeeding hopper, and means for rotating one of each of said pairs of discs and said fans.

3. In a device of the character described, a casing, a plurality of hoppers one above the other, pairs of discs beneath said hoppers, an apertured fan casing having a fan therein located beneath each of said pairs of discs and above the neXt succeeding hopper, means for rotatingone disc of each of said pairs and said fans, and meansfor varyingthe size of the aperture in the fan casings.

4. A device of the character described, comprising, a plurality of funnel-shaped hoppers located therein one above another, pairs of discs located beneath said hoppers, the lower disc of each pair being rotatable and the upper. disc of each pair being sta tionary, fans located beneath each pair of discs and fan casings surrounding said fans and opening into said hoppers, a shaft sup- 7 porting said rotatable discs and fans, and

means for adjusting said rotatable discs relative to the stationary discs.

5.. A device of the character described, comprising a casing, a plurality of frustroconical hoppers located in said casing one above another, a stationary disc beneath each hopper, a rotatable shaft j ournaled to extend centrally through said hoppers having discs thereon corresponding to each of said stationary discs and rotatable with said shaft, apertured fan casings beneath each pair of discs having fans therein rotatable with said shaft,said pairs of discs having conical recesses formed therein arrange in concentric circles, the recesses of each circle being opposite to the space between the recesses of the adjacent circles, and means for adjusting said shaft.

' 6. In a grain huller, a plurality of hoppers located one above the other, a pair of discs beneath each hopper having their active faces in parallel planes, the adjacent faces of each pair having conical recesses formed therein and one of said discs being revoluble, a' revoluble shaft extending through said hoppers and a feed-screw on said shaft corresponding to and located each hopper.

'7. A device of the character described, comp-rising a casing, a plurality of frustoconical hoppers located in said casing one above another, a stationary disc beneath each hopper, a rotatable shaft journaled to extend centrally through said hoppers having discs thereon corresponding to each of said stationary discs and rotatable with said shaft, a-pertured fan casings beneath each pair of discs having fans therein rotatable with said shaft, a feed-screw on said shaft corresponding to and located in each hopper, said pairs of discs having conical recesses formed therein arranged in concentric circles,-the recesses of each circlebeing oppofor delivering the site to the space between the recesses of the adjacent circles, and means for adjusting said shaft.

8. In a grain huller, a pair of discs arranged in spaced relation to each other, the space between said discs being'such as to accommodate the grain to be hulled, said discs having conical depressions formed in their adjacent faces and one of said discs being rotatable.

9. In a grain huller, a pair of discs arranged in close proximityto each other, but spaced a sufficient distance apart to accommodate therebetween the grain to be hulled, one of said discs being rotatable and having conical depressions in the face thereof adjacent the other disc. 7

10. A device of the character described, comprising a pair of discs, one of which is rotatable, a fan casing lying beneath said pair of discs and having an opening in the bottom thereof, spouts leading from said fan casing to a point beyond the periphery of said pair of discs.

11. A device of the character described,

the other disc, and means for adjusting said 7 discs toward and away from each other.

12. A device of the character described, a pair of relatively rotatable discs, depres sions in one of said discs arranged inconcentric circles, the depressions of each circle being opposite the spaces between the depressions of the adjacent circles. I

13. A device of the character described, comprising a pair of spaced apart relatively moving surfaces, one 'of'which is provided with conical depressions. I

14:. A device of the character described,

comprising a pair of spaced apart-rela-.

tively moving surfaces, one of which is provided wlth conical depressions, and means said surfaces.

15. In a device of the character described, a pair of spaced apart relatively moving surfaces, one of said surfaces having conical depressions therein, the walls of which are at a wide angle to their axes.

16. In a device of the character described, a pair of spaced apart relatively moving surfaces having conical depressions therein, the

grain to be hulled between walls of which are at a Wide angle to their In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

ROBERT ANSON LITTLE. 

